Eden Hazard will try and force through his dream move to Real Madrid - but not until the summer.
The Chelsea star has been linked with the reigning European champions for some time and does still want the big money transfer to happen at some point soon.
But, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, he won't force the issue until the summer to avoid adding further disruption to Chelsea's season.
What's more, Real are not prepared to get into a conflict with Chelsea by attempting to unsettle Hazard during the current transfer window.
That is despite the Spanish giants urgently needing some fresh attacking talent given they trail rivals Barcelona by 10 points in the La Liga title race.
Since the £100million departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus last summer, Real have lacked firepower with the likes of Gareth Bale, Isco and Marco Asensio unable to compensate.
Hazard has rejected Chelsea's efforts to get him to commit to a new contract, with his existing deal due to expire in June 2020.
The 28-year-old hasn't exactly downed tools, however, and has scored 12 goals and contributed 10 assists in all competitions this season.
Maurizio Sarri has often deployed him as a false nine as he desperately searches for ways to make his 'Sarri-ball' tactics work in the Premier League.
Chelsea will be confident of extracting a sizeable sum for Hazard, with the asking price reportedly in the region of €100m (£88m).
Hazard has spoken previously of his desire to play for Real, saying a few months ago: 'Real Madrid is the best club in the world. I don't want to lie, it is my dream since I was a kid.
'We will see. I don't want to talk about this every day. I don't have time, but we will talk about my future soon.
'In my head, sometimes I wake up in the morning and think I want to go. Sometimes I think I want to stay. It is a hard decision. It is my future. I am 27 and I will turn 28 in January.
'It is also when you have a dream and you want to make it happen. It is like I have said a lot of times: if I leave I will be happy, I know if I stay I will be happy.'
Elsa98
119
As much as i love hazard, chelsea need someone who actually has chelsea in their heart.💙 If your main goal is to leave chelsea sometime soon, go ahead.😢
Germany_Özil10
100
Chelsea demands from 200 millions to 88 millions.
Nesaiknruy_Legend
58
I hope he doesn't do a Snakeois, I've always appreciated Eden and if he wants out, let him out cos the truth is he's not performing on purpose and you can tell from his first half of the season performances compared to his second and that's not down to a position change, he's not even able to dribble past players whereas before he could beat 2 or 3. That's not coincidence, he's given up on the team and I understand cos the team is weak, comprised of too many average players and incompetence. Just let Hazard go, bring in a replacement of similar level if possible and pull off a squad overhaul with whatever extra money we get on top of the replacement player...